Poster rolling and moistening machine



A1 8- 1931- A. M. ak f'rEs V 1,818,451

POSTER ROLLING AND MOiSTENING MACHINE Filed Aug. 50, 1928 J1. A0 .73 a INVENTOR.

A'TTORNE Patented Aug. 11, 1931 PATENT OFFICE ."AZARIAH M. BATES, or Downs, KANSAS rosrna ROLLING AND Morsrnn ne MACHINE Application filed August 30, 1928. Serial No. 303,049.

My invention relates to the preparation of posters whereby the posters may be applied to the billboard more expeditiously and whereby the posters when on the billboard 8 will present a much neater. and smoother appearance.

The primary object of my inventionis the provision of'a novel method for treating the posters preparatory to applying them to the 19 billboard.

Another. dbject of my invention is the provision of a winding reel and moistening device for carrying out the novel method.

It'is also my object to. so design the reel 15 that it may be adapted to posters of various widths.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in the following description, I will now refer to the drawings,

20 in which Figure 1 is aview in perspective of the entire device as seen from the operators position.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of .25 the table, .water trough, and the winding reel.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the winding reel.

The appliance includes a table of appropriate dimensions and having a water trough 11 at its forward extremity. The bottom of the Water trough 11 is curved as best shown in Figure 2. The ends of the water trough are closed by means of end walls to which i the water trough is secured in water tight relation. The end wall on the operators right-hand side projects upwardly to form a shield 12. At the right-hand side of the trough and secured thereto is a narrow shelf or platform 13.

The operating portion of the reel includes a short shaft 14 projecting through the shield 12, the shaft 14 being secured at its outerend to a pulley 15. The shaft 14 has its bearing in the support 16 which is secured to the shelf 13. In my preferred construction the pulley is driven by a pulley on the electric motor 17 having a foot operated switch at 18. The operator is thus enabled to stop and start the action of the motor 17 with his foot,

thus leaving both hands free for manipulat ing the posters.

The shaft 14 is short and it projects only to a slight distance to the left of the shield 12; Secured to the end portion of the shaft 14 is a tubular'shaft 19 having its free end resting in the notched bracket 20, the bracket 20 being secured to the end wall of the trough 11 and projecting upwardly to thelevel of the shaft 14. The inner diameter of the'shaft'19 is somewhat in excess of the diameter of the shaft 14 so that the securing means 21 is in the nature of a pivot so that the shaft 19 may be raised at an angle to the shaft 14 a suffio ient distance to clear the bifurcation in the bracketQO. The shaft 19 has a bolt or rivet 22 projecting from the surface and having a head which is spaced'somewhat fromlthe surface. The channel bar 23 rests on the shaft 19and it is held to rotate therewith by sliding the bifurcated end of the channel member underneath the head of the bolt or rivet 22 as shownin' Figure 3. At the free end of the channel member 23 is a disc 24 which is soldered, welded or otherwise secured thereto and which forms a flange for the shaft. It will be seen that by raising the free end of the shaft 19 the channel member 23 can be secured to the shaft 19 or withdrawn therefrom, the disc 24 having an aperture of suflicient size to freely receive the shaft 19. It will alsoqbe seen that the rotation of the shafts 14 and 19 will carry the channel member with them.

It is sometimes desirable that narrow sheets be reeled and for this purposel have provided a tubular shaft of relatively short length with acorresponding channel member 25 resting at its free end in the bracket 26 which is mounted on an adjustable support 27. When the paper is to be wound, its edge is merely brought into'contact with the outer. surface of the channel member and the motor is set into operation through the switch 18. This winds the sheet on the channel member and when one sheet has been wound, the next following sheet is brought into contact with the exterior surface of the preceding sheet so that a number of layers of the paper may be wound on thereel.

I The paper to be applied to the billboard should be moist since in this condition it receives the paste much better than dry paper does. Moist paper when applied to billboards tends to shrink slightly so that it will be in slightly stretched form after drying. Being slightly stretched it is free from all of the minute irregularities which collectively afiect the poster on the billboard and which frequently destroy the neat appearance of a poster as a whole. Provision is therefore made in winding the paper to thoroughly moisten the paper without soaking it. At the bottom of the trough are two forked brackets 28 for supporting a roller 29. The roller 29 is of sufficient weight to hold the paper in its passage through the water. The paper is thus first carried around under the roller 29 and thenbrought into contact with the channel member 23 so that it will be thoroughly moistened in its passage through the water before being rolled. In most cases, however, the roller29 maybe dispensed with and the paper may be drawn across the surface of the Water while it is being wound about the channel member 23, the slack in the paper beingv sufficient to lnsure 1ts being dragged over the surface of the water. In th1s manner only one surface of the paper is moistened prior to winding but the moisture is diffused through the paper in the roll. The effect of using the roller 29 is merely to increase the amount of moisture carried upwardly on the paper, and whether or not the roller 29 is to be used depends largely on the condition of the atmosphere and on the character of the paper.

The posters are rolled on each other in the manner above described in superposed layers,

until the desired thickness of roll is obtained. The free end of the shaft is then raised to permit the withdrawal of the rollof posters together with the channel member. The channel member is then withdrawn from the roll and the roll is wrapped in waxed or paratfined paper, the ends being preferably sealed by applying heat to the tucked-in portions of the waxed paperat the ends of the roll. The posters are then ready to be delivered to the bill poster for application to the billboard. Since some time elapsesbetween the preparation of the posters and their ap' plication to the billboard, varying from several hours to several. days, the moisture on the posters is thoroughly difiused throughout the roll so that the moisture content becomes practically uniform throughout the roll. WVhen the roll is ready to be opened at the billboard, the various sheets are in their regular order so that the bill poster may apply them to the billboard without loss of tune spent in searching for the proper sheets.

sections of the posters were usually superposed in layer form and the bundle was transported to the billboard where the pastewas applied to the back surfaces of the dry sheets. With my novel method, however, the paper is kept moist until it is applied to the billboard where it is permitted to dry out and to shrink sufficiently to overcome all wrinkles, air bubbles and the like. Not only is a very superior effect produced on the billboard but the method eliminates much of the trouble of transporting and handling the posters.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact terms that its construction and operation will be readily understood by others skilled in the art to whichit pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates In a device for preparing posters for application tobillboards, a table for supporting the posters in fiat condition and in super posed relation, a water trough at the for ward extremity of said table, and a reelabove said water trough, saidreel including a rotatable shaft anda member slidable thereon, said member having a flange'secured thereto at one extremity thereof and having means at the other extremity thereof for releasably engaging said shaft to prevent relative axial movement thereof, said flange being adapted to embrace said shaft.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

AZARIAH M. BATES. 

